Pokemon Learning League Weather
by Storalwhit
Summary: In this one, Ash and Serena are on their way to Fuschia City to check out the Safari Zone. However, before they can go there, the city gets hit by a different kind of thunderstorm that's completely unexpected. Note: the information presented in this story may be complex to some of you.


Pokemon Learning League

Weather

Written By 

Timothy Whitfield

 _(Episode opens with Ash, Pikachu and Serena on Route 18, heading to Fuchsia City on a partly cloudy & windy afternoon. The clouds are blowing in the wind & momentarily block out the Sun in some parts. A cold breeze blows through the area & Serena speaks to Ash.)_

Serena: Ooh, it feels cold out today.

Ash: You said it, Serena, but we're almost at Fuchsia City.

Serena: Oh, that's good. So, is the Safari Zone here a great place?

Ash: You bet it is. You can catch all kinds of wild Pokemon in there.

Serena: That's pretty interesting. What was it like when you first visited it?

Ash: Boy, was it something. When Misty, Brock and I first arrived there, the warden at the time, a guy named Kaiza, was a very tough man.

Serena _(intrigued)_ : Really?

Ash: Yep, and he was very strict about enforcing the rules. If you didn't follow them, you were going to get it.

Serena _(understanding)_ : Ah-ha.

 _(As they go on, more clouds start rolling into the area until it becomes an overcast.)_

Serena: What else happened?

Ash: Then, Team Rocket showed up and issued us a challenge, that if we won, they'd leave us alone, but if they did, we'd have to give them all our Pokemon.

Serena: Sounds like that would've been awful.

Ash: Oh, it would've been. So, we went in and had gotten off to a pretty good start. Brock and I caught a couple of Tauros, then after that, I tried to catch a Rhyhorn, though I wasn't being careful and accidentally caught another Tauros.

Serena: Ahh. That's pretty silly.

Ash: Yep. In fact, by the end, I wounded up catching thirty of them. But anyways, we later found out that Team Rocket was going after a rare Dratini and were going to use an electric bomb to get all the Pokemon living in the Dragon Valley lake.

Serena: My goodness.

Ash: It was about to go off, so Kaiza dived in to get it. Then, I dived in after with him, along with Misty's Staryu, where I had it take him back to the surface, while I went after the bomb. I had gotten it and tried to swim back to the surface, but I had run out of air and nearly drowned.

Serena _(sympathetically)_ : Well, that's horrible.

Ash: But then, a Dragonair came in & rescued me, and it turned out that it evolved from the Dratini Kaiza saved.

Serena _(impressed & amazed)_: Wow, that's really amazing.

Ash: Mmm-hmm, but you can't tell anyone else about the Dragonair or Dratini.

Serena: All right, I won't.

 _(They continue onward. Eight minutes later, they arrive in Fuchsia City. Just then, lightning flashes within the clouds and, two seconds later, the thunder rumbles.)_

Ash: Ooh, sounds like it's going to get nasty.

Serena: Yeah. We better head take cover.

 _(They hustle on over to the Pokemon Center before the storm starts.)_

Joy: Hello, there guys. How's it going?

Ash & Serena: Good, Nurse Joy.

Joy: Well, that's great to hear. I take it you want to rest up your Pokemon?

Ash: You bet we do.

Joy: Okay, I'll get right on it.

 _(They hand her their PokeBalls & Pikachu, puts them on a rack and carts them off. Now, they go over to the waiting area and sit in a booth seated near a window.)_

Serena: So, after the Safari Zone, what do we do from there?

Ash: I don't know yet, but whatever it'll, I'm sure it's going to be fun.

Serena: Okay, then. Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you.

 _(She goes into her backpack, pulls two small bags and hands them to Ash. One is full of Poke Puffs, and the other has macarons.)_

Ash _(appreciatively)_ : Thank you, Serena. That's really nice.

Serena: You're welcome, Ash.

 _(She turns & looks out the window and gets a surprised look on her face.)_

Serena: _(gasps.)_ Ash, you have to see this.

Ash: What is it, Serena?

 _(He looks outside and sees… it's snowing very hard, and the wind blows it all around and a flash of lightning appears in the sky.)_

Ash _(amazed)_ : Whoa! That's incredible.

Serena _(concurring)_ : Yeah, but how is this possible?

Ash: I don't know. It is really weird seeing lightning & thunder in a snowstorm.

Serena: Maybe Siara will know something about it.

 _(She goes into her bag, pulls the Pokepilot out, turns it on and calls Siara, who is doing some training with her Dragalge.)_

Siara: Hi, guys.

Serena: Hey, Siara. How are you doing?

Siara: Oh, terrific. Just helping Dragalge work on its Scald attack.

Ash: That's cool, and how's that been going?

Siara: It's been going well so far.

Ash: That's great.

Siara: Mmm-hmm. So, what are you guys up to?

Serena: Right now, we're at the Pokemon center, and there's a thunder snowstorm going on right now.

Siara _(fascinated)_ : Really?

Serena: Yeah.

 _(She holds the Pokepilot out to the window and shows Siara.)_

Siara: My, that is a strange phenomenon.

Ash: You said it, so do you know how this kind of weather can happen?

Siara: Well, to better understand that, you need to know how a lot of the weather is formed.

Ash: Okay, how does it happen?

Siara: To start with, it usually depends on the atmospheric pressure. Essentially, because the amount of heat from the Sun varies each day, temperatures will also vary depending on where you are. Also, the rotation of the planet causes what is known as the Coriolis Force, where wind patterns in the northern & southern hemisphere go in opposite directions, which results in creating high & low pressure systems.

 _(The images and words highlight as she continues to speak.)_

Siara: With high pressure systems, the air is a lot denser and holds in more water vapor in the lower levels of the atmosphere, resulting in warmer temperatures and a clearer and dryer environment, whereas with low pressure systems, as you can guess, they have the opposite effect. With it being less dense, the air rises to higher levels, where the temperatures get much cooler, and the water vapor condenses into clouds, thus bringing precipitation to some areas.

Serena: Okay, that's pretty important. Now what?

Siara: Next up is the amount of solar & terrestrial radiation given off. While the Sun gives off a vast amount of energy, which travels through space as short-wave radiation, only a small portion of it ever reaches the Earth's surface. Also, believe it or not, much of the atmosphere isn't heated by the solar radiation, but by terrestrial radiation the planet itself gives off.

Serena _(intrigued)_ : Really? How does it do that?

Siara: Basically, when the Earth absorbs the solar radiation, it also emits long-wave radiation. Also, while water vapor & carbon dioxide molecules allow short wave radiation to pass through, they absorb the Earth's radiation, thus heating the atmosphere from the ground up.

Ash: That's really interesting. Now what?

Siara: Another key component of weather formation is the wind. When the air gets heated up, the molecules move around more rapidly, pushing each other father apart, resulting in it becoming less dense & rise through the troposphere to thinner air, as well as also move to colder regions. Then, it eventually cools back down to a denser state and sinks back down.

Ash: Okay, then what happens?

Siara: The air in one area heats up faster than the air in an adjoining area, the pressure differentials create wind. When this occurs, the air in the hotter area becomes less dense & rises as an updraft. After that, cooler air comes in as surface wind, gets heated up as well, rises with the updraft, cools down and gets pushed out as upper air wind.

 _(As she talks goes on, an image of a city and a bordering countryside animate to the words being spoken.)_

Serena: Oh, that's interesting.

Siara: Yep, but that's not all. They also create convection cells, which occur when a mass movement or circulation transfers heat through a substance. They act as one of the central components, as temperatures and air pressure are constantly changing. There are also three key factors in the global atmospheric circulation. First, there's the pressure-gradient force, where more wind is generated, due to high-pressure air flowing into low-pressure areas. Low-pressure centers, also called cyclones, rotate in a vortex pattern similar to a hurricane, while high-pressure winds spiral into the low-pressure center & ascend in an updraft, while high-pressure centers, or anticyclones, descend in a downdraft and spiral along the surface into low-pressure areas.

Serena: Okay, what the next one?

Siara: Then, there's the Coriolis force, which, as mentioned earlier, causes the winds in both hemispheres to blow in opposite directions, but that's not all it does. It also breaks the hemispheric cells into three different types: The Hadley cells, the Ferrel cells and the Polar cells. Lastly, there's the friction with the Earth's surface. Wherever surface winds make contact with the Earth, it'll cause friction, thus slowing down & redirecting the flow of air, but upper air winds are unaffected by it.

Ash: Man, that's really complex. What's next?

Siara: As you probably know, water plays an important role when creating weather, even though it makes up about 4 percent of the atmosphere in some areas. Because it exists in various states, it goes through the water cycle, which you already know about.

Serena: All right, what's left?

Siara: Lastly, there's the involvement of air masses. When humid air rises to the point where cooler temperature forces it to be condensed, it often involves the movement of air masses, which are large bodies of air with similar temperatures and moisture content. There are four natural occurrences that cause air to rise, like the Orographic lifting, which happens when an airflow encounters elevated terrains, like a mountain range. Next is the frontal wedging, which occurs when a warm & a cold air mass collides and create a front, and there are four kinds of them: warm, cold, stationary and occluded. Then, there's the convergence, where two masses with the same temperatures collide and neither one is willing to go back down, but only up. Finally, the localized convection lifting. Basically, the unequal heating of the Earth's surface causes a pocket of air to heat up faster than the air surrounding it, causing it to ascend, take some water vapor with it and forms into clouds.

Ash: Man, that's all pretty complex.

Siara: Yep, it sure is, but once you understand it better, it won't be as much, which is why I'm going to show you two something.

Serena: All right, then.

( _Pan up to an upper panel, displaying the various stages of weather formation.)_

Siara: Well, are you two ready to go?

Ash: You bet, Siara.

Siara: Okay, then. What do high pressure & low pressure systems respectively bring?

Ash: Hmm. High-pressure systems bring warmer & clearer weather, while low-pressure systems bring cooler weather.

Siara: All right, Ash. Now, how does the terrestrial radiation heat up the atmosphere?

Serena: The Earth absorbs solar radiation, gives off long-wave radiation and water vapor & carbon dioxide molecules absorb it.

Siara: You know it, Serena. What happens to the air as it gets heated?

Ash: Molecules move faster, push further apart, become less dense and rise to cooler regions & thinner air.

Siara: Very nice. Now, what happens when a large area absorbs a lot of heat & what happens from there?

Serena: The air becomes less dense and rises in an updraft, then cooler air comes in as surface wind, heats up & rises with the updraft, make the air above it cool down and push out as upper air wind.

Siara: You got it. What are the three types of convection cells?

Ash: Pressure-gradient force, the Coriolis force and friction with the Earth's surface.

Siara: Very good. You two did great.

Serena: Thanks, Siara.

Siara: You're welcome, Serena. Now, if you guys will excuse me, we need.

Ash: Okay, before you go, would you mind explaining how a thunder snowstorm can occur?

Siara: Sure thing. Basically, what happens is that a cold front comes in, lifts up the warmer air, which then condenses into clouds, and it allows ice particles to rub against each other, thus resulting in a thunder snowstorm.

Ash _(comprehending it)_ : Oh, okay. Thanks.

Siara: No problem. Well, see you guys later.

Ash: See you.

 _(Serena puts the Pokepilot away, but just then, they hear the chime.)_

Serena: I guess we better go get them.

 _(Ash gets up from his seat.)_

Ash: Hang on, Serena. Let me go get them for us.

Serena: Oh, okay.

 _(He goes up to the front desk, where Nurse Joy is waiting with Pikachu and the other PokeBalls.)_

Joy: All your Pokemon are well-rested and ready to go.

Ash: That's good.

Pikachu: Pika, Pika.

 _(Pikachu jumps off the tray & onto Ash's shoulder, while Ash takes the rest if his PokeBall and puts them back on his belt.)_

Ash: Hey, Nurse Joy, do you mind if I bring Serena's PokeBalls to her myself?

Joy: Of course not. Go right ahead.

Ash: Thanks.

 _(He picks up Serena's PokeBalls, goes back over to the booth & hands them over to her.)_

Ash: Here you are, Serena.

Serena: Thanks, Ash. That was really nice of you.

Ash: No problem.

 _(She takes them from Ash and puts them back in her bag. Ash looks out the window and sees that the storm has died down a bit, but it's still coming down and the wind's still blowing hard.)_

Ash: Boy, it's going to take a while before the storm lets up.

Serena: Yeah. What do you say we go get something to eat?

Ash: Sure.

 _(They get from their booth and head over to the buffet. Once there, they each get a plate & tray. Ash gets some cheesy breadsticks, onigiris, lasagna and snickerdoodles, while Serena gets some sweet rolls, onigiris, spaghetti & meatballs and regular breadsticks. They leave the buffet and head back over to their booths. Ash place his tray down, gets out a can Pokemon food for Pikachu out of his bag, pours some into his hand and gives it to him. Now, Ash & Serena start eating.)_

Both _(warmly & contented)_: Ahh.

Pikachu _(contented)_ : Pika.

 _(As they go on consuming their food, Nurse Joy comes over to them.)_

Joy: I see you two are enjoying your lunch.

 _(They both nod their heads to her.)_

Joy: That's great. So, how would you two like to see something I've been working on?

Serena: Sure thing. What is it?

Joy: Well, follow me and I'll show you.

 _(They get up from their booth and they follow Nurse Joy over to a special room, where they see a few Litwick sapping energy from the sleeping Pokemon and trainers' dreams. Red mists of energy emanate from the sleeping Pokemon and are absorbed by the flames on the top of the Litwicks' heads, which grow bigger with each one they absorb.)_

Joy: As you can see, they're absorbing the energy from these Pokémon's nightmares and are helping them sleep better.

Ash _(concerned & wondering)_: Okay, but won't they take more of their life energy once they wake up and take them to the Ghost World?

Joy: No need to worry about that. They've been trained to not do that to any Pokemon or people.

Ash _(comprehending)_ : Oh. Well, that's good.

Joy: Mmm-hmm, it is.

 _(Just as they exit the room, one of the Litwick tries to leave with them, but Joy turns back and Litwick stops it in its tracks.)_

Joy _(very sternly & authoritatively)_: Don't even think about it.

 _(It turns back around and heads back over to the other two. Now, we cut back out to the main lobby.)_

Serena: So, what made you decide to do this?

Joy: Well, I wanted to help Pokemon or their trainers that are having trouble sleeping, so I thought of using the Litwicks' ability of sapping energy from Pokemon & people, but in a good & helpful manner.

Serena: I hope that goes well for you.

Joy: Well, thank you. I think it will.

 _(She walks back over to her station.)_

Serena: So, Ash, how about we resume what we were doing before?

Ash: Sure, Serena. Let's see if the audience are up for this.

Serena: Okay. _(She turns over to the audience.)_ You guys up for this? _(She casually waits for an answer from the audience for one second.)_ Oh, okay.

 _(Diagonal wipe back to the image of the various stages.)_

Serena _(V.O.)_ : Okay, let's get to it. What are the three convection cells caused by the Coriolis force? _(She casually waits for an answer from the audience for one and a half seconds.)_ Hadley, Ferrel and Polar. All right, then.

Ash _(V.O.)_ : Now, how much of the atmosphere is made up of water? _(He casually waits for an answer from the audience for one and a half seconds.)_ About four percent.Very good.

Serena _(V.O.)_ : How are the air masses formed? _(She casually waits for an answer from the audience one and a half seconds.)_ When humid air rises, gets condensed, it often involves the movement of air masses, which are large bodies of air with similar temperatures and moisture content _._ Oh, yeah.

Ash _(V.O.)_ : Lastly, what are the four natural occurrences that make air rise? _(He casually waits for an answer from the audience for one and a half seconds.)_ Orographic lifting, frontal wedging, a convergence and a localized convection lifting. You got it.

 _(Vertical wipe back to the two and Ash casually speaks to the audience.)_

Ash _(casually)_ : You guys did great.

Pikachu: Pika-chu.

Serena: So, Ash. What were some of the weirdest adventures you had?

Ash: Ooh, boy, there were so many of them. There was the time where this group of Clefairy were going around, stealing everyone's stuff so they could build a spaceship and we had to stop them.

Serena: All right, then. What else?

Ash: Another time, during our adventure in the Orange Islands, we had an encounter with a ghost ship when Team Rocket tried to steal the Orange League cup.

Serena: My goodness.

 _(Now, we pan as he goes on about it dissolve to an hour and a half later, where we see the storm has let up and the entire city is covered in five-to-six inches of snow, but it remains an overcast. Cut back to the inside of the Center.)_

Serena: Whoa, those were some really crazy stuff you did.

Ash: Yeah, and I'm sure there'll be plenty more in the future.

 _(He looks out the window and sees it's stopped snowing & all the snow covering the ground.)_

Ash: Well, it's finally let up. You ready to head to the Safari Zone?

Serena: Yep.

Ash: All right, then.

 _(They each go a changing room and put on their winter coats, gloves & boots. Now, they exit the rooms, pick up their bags, leave the Pokemon Center and head on over to the Safari Zone. Moments later, they arrive at the destination and head inside, where the new Warden, Lorenzo, awaits them. He has brown hair, sapphire blue eyes, a brown mustache and is wearing a park uniform and black loafers.)_

Lorenzo: Afternoon, you two. How are you both doing?

Serena: We're doing well, thanks.

Lorenzo: Oh, good. Wasn't that a strange storm that came through?

Ash: It certainly was.

Pikachu _(agreeing)_ : Pika-chu.

Lorenzo: Anyways, I take it you're here for a visit?

Ash: You bet we are.

Pikachu: Pika-chu.

Lorenzo: Very well, then. _(Very seriously.)_ Just remember to follow the rules, or else.

Ash _(confidently)_ : Don't worry. We will.

 _(He gets out a bucket full of safari balls and a couple of fishing rods. They take them and start back outside.)_

Lorenzo: Hang on a second. You'll need these.

 _(He hands them each a pair of snowshoes.)_

Serena: Okay, thanks.

 _(Now, we dissolve to them back outside, at the main entryway, where Lorenzo opens up the gates.)_

Lorenzo: You two have a good time now.

Serena: Oh, we will.

 _(They enter into the Safari Zone and the gate closes behind them. Once inside, they see herds of Stantler and Sawsbuck eating leaves off of low-hanging tree branches or bushes, a couple of Gogoats head-butting into each other, a Rhyhorn using its horn to dig through the snow and get to the grass and over by a pond, some Bibarel are taking refuge in a lodge/dam from a pack of Mightyenas, while others are trying to fend them off from their home.)_

Ash: Boy, they're really going all out over there.

Serena: Yeah, you said it. How long do you think they'll be at it?

Ash: Who knows? Maybe for hours.

 _(As they continue on through, they take notice of a pride of Pyroar huddled around, keeping each other warm. Then, they see an Emolga trying to keep a young Darumaka warm, while also protecting it from a large Staraptor.)_

Serena: Hey, would you look at that?

Ash: Yeah. It must really care about that Darumaka.

Serena: Mmm-hmm. I'm really enjoying what I'm seeing so far.

Ash: That's good. There's plenty of more like this to come.

Serena: Okay, good.

 _(They both turn over to the audience.)_

Both _(casually)_ : Thanks, you guys.

Pikachu _(casually)_ : Pika, Pika.

 _(Now, we wipe to moments later, where they are in another part of the Safari Zone.)_

Serena; that was an interesting episode. Did you like it? _(She casually waits for an answer from the audience for one second.)_ Oh, okay. Then, we'll see you later.

 _(They both casually wave goodbye to the audience and resume on searching through the Safari Zone. Now, we pan up to see the snow-covered area & trees, as well as some Pokemon digging through it and we iris out, ending the episode.)_


End file.
